I bought a new TV ten months ago. I think that Phillips and Sony got top marks for picture quality in tests. Samsung TVs were the best for the money. If you want good sound, you need a separate sound system because the built-in speakers are always sub-par.
I got a Phillips because the built-in speakers were not crap, even though they were much worse than in the CRT I had before and I did not want to need an extra remote. The colours were all over the place in every preset I tried but setting each level to 50% made it look good and I am now very happy with the picture quality.
Personally I can not stand a low-frame rate picture, but don't get a lots-of-Hz TVs if you dislliked the look of the first The Hobbit-movie in "high frame rate".
Built-in card slot for cable decoder is a must.
Do try the remote and menus in the store before you buy. Some TVs have menus that are difficult to navigate.
You could test a TV in a store and then buy it cheaper on-line.